


Neighborly Intentions

by joshbrolinismyidealman (blurghtastic)



Category: Deadpool (Movieverse), Deadpool - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Neighbors, Baking with Neena, Cable is a Sneak™, F/M, Have a Beer with Us, Neena is Your Best Friend, Neighbors, Slow Burn, Tags Are Fun, Tour Guide Cable, Will add tags as I go, also Hungover Ho Cable, and Tipsy Thot Cable
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-04
Updated: 2018-07-05
Packaged: 2019-05-18 04:19:51
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,025
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14845589
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blurghtastic/pseuds/joshbrolinismyidealman
Summary: You live a mile down the road from Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters when the X-Force team moves in. You've got to be a good neighbor and befriend the new kids on the block, right?





	1. An Anticlimactic Meeting

_Wow, I could look at that man all damn day_. In fact, you couldn’t take your eyes off him. Every time you rode your bike past that pristine yard, you hoped he would be in it. Sometimes, of course, he wasn’t, but the days when he was you could hardly contain your excitement. You didn’t know his name, but it didn’t matter; regardless of the name, that man was _handsome_. Most of the days you saw him, he was running laps, which was normal enough. Sometimes, though, he would be sparring in the yard with one of the many other residents of the building, which was much more exciting for you than the jogging you usually saw. To watch him move in such a way, to be so completely in sync with his body, with reflexes faster than the average human and enough muscle to make those reflexes really matter, there was no denying that you slowed your pace significantly when you were in front of the massive property.

You’d known what this place was for a long while now; you weren’t an idiot. Living down the road from Xavier’s School for Gifted Blah Blah Blah hadn’t come without its issues throughout your time there. It was probably the reason you had such a great deal on rent. There had been more than a few times when you’d heard an explosion, and it had gotten to the point that you hardly even noticed them anymore. You were a pretty good sleeper and didn’t have any pets to protest you staying in the splash zone of the occasional mutant battle. And the house you stayed in wasn’t half bad, anyway. A tiny cottage a little over a mile from the main entrance to the grounds of the school, with plenty of space for a garden. Sure, there were mice sometimes, and the internet was a little slow way out here, but you got plenty of exercise riding into town every day, and you really couldn’t turn down such a quaint little piece of property for the price they were offering. It especially didn’t hurt once that man moved in just down the street.

Lucky for you, you’d managed to make a friend at the school. Before you’d even noticed the newest residents of the school and started hanging around in hopes of meeting a specific older buff one, you’d accidentally found yourself outside of those not-so-pearly gates with a flat tire. That was how you’d met Neena.

If you had to describe Neena in a word, it would be, of course, lucky. But other words included clever, genuine, kindhearted, beautiful, perfect…She was one of the best things to happen to you. The day you’d met her was one of your favorites of your most recent memories, in fact.

She had been running laps around the campus—you noticed a trend there—and had stopped when she noticed you hovering by the front, inspecting your front tire with a confused look on your face. She’d slowed to a jog, her brow furrowed, and come towards you with a simple, “Hey, you look like you might need a hand there.” You’d been slightly startled, but very accepting of the help. “I think you might be right, I seem to have gotten a flat. You wouldn’t happen to have a pump or something to help me fix it up long enough for me to get home and patch it up, wouldja?” She’d flashed you a knowing smile, and a quick, “I dunno, but I’m sure we’ll get lucky.” She led you to the storage shed nearby, where there just so happened to be a bike pump and duct tape set right at eye level on the shelf nearest the door. You’d fixed up the tire and offered many thanks before she oh, so casually asked, “So are you gonna come inside or am I going to have to stay out here in this shed to get to know you?”

The rest, as they say, is history. You began to find yourself with Neena at the mysterious school down the road a lot more frequently, almost always by circumstance, and you couldn’t exactly complain. They always seemed to have a well-stocked kitchen, a not smelly gym with plenty of privacy, and an abundance of people to talk to. You sensed an underlying segregation between Neena’s team, X-Force, and the other students at the school, and upon a casual questioning, she implied that they didn’t really think X-Force had a place at a school for mutants, considering none of them could really be classified as ‘role model’ mutants: a college dropout, the ‘merc with a mouth’, and a hunk of vengeful manmetal from the future. But she didn’t seem to mind. The kids who avoided the team weren’t the kind of kids she wanted to be around, anyway, and the ones who appreciated X-Force could usually handle the team leader Wade’s vulgar sense of humor better than those who didn’t.

Today was one of those days when you found yourself on a ride past the mansion. It was also one of those days when that incredibly handsome man was sparring in the yard. You’d recognize his partner’s beautiful hair anywhere and felt that stopping for a quick chat with Neena was completely in character for you. Sure, you mostly did it because you wanted to be introduced to that sexiness with the metal arm, but you also never minded seeing your luckiest friend. You rolled up the driveway and slowed to a stop to watch as the pair fought, wishing you could devote your attention to both participants but knowing your eyes were fixed on the older man’s movements far more than your friend’s. The amount of strength you could sense in his limbs almost made you nervous for Neena’s safety, but you knew that her luck and their comradery would save her from serious injury.

The match ended as she swept his feet from beneath him and pinned him to the ground with a forearm at his throat and a leg on each of his muscled arms. He tapped the gravel beside them with his metal one, and she let go of her grip on him. Standing, she offered him a hand. Turning to me as she helped him up, a smile grew large on her face. “Well, if it isn’t my favorite neighbor. What brings you over today, sweetheart?”

You couldn’t help but grin back at her. Her smile was so infectious. “Was just on a ride, saw you in the yard, thought I’d stop in to say hello and bother you a bit.”

You glanced at the man, who seemed only slightly grumpy to have been interrupted, and then returned your gaze to Neena pointedly, hoping she would get that hint that you were waiting to be introduced. Luckily, of course, she did. Turning to him, she punched him lightly in the arm. “Cable, this is our neighbor, Y/N!”

You met his gaze expectantly, ever so curious to see how he would act compared to the ideas you had in your head. His eyes were cold, and one glowed mechanically as he looked at you. You were suddenly very glad you had your bike beside you to hold onto, to steady you in the path of that golden eye’s analyses. “Hey, Cable, it’s nice to finally meet you! I’ve heard all about you from Neena here.” You paused as he sent an annoyed glance her way, and he didn’t humor you by interjecting a greeting, so you let out a slightly awkward laugh and added, “Don’t worry, all good things.” He returned his gaze to you and remained silent a moment longer, giving you an up and down look. You felt naked under his watchful eye, and brought your own down to the ground, clearing your throat. Judgy much?

Finally, he spoke. “It’s nice to meet you.”

You were taken aback by his voice, almost visibly before you caught yourself. It was so much deeper and gruffer than you’d expected, and you’d been expecting a lot. You nodded politely back, and threw your eyes to Neena, silently begging her to move the conversation along. “Well,” she started, clearly aware of how weird the vibe was, “Y/N, you got a sec? I tried my hand at ratatouille yesterday and think I got pretty lucky with how great it turned out.”

You sighed gratefully, gripping the handle bars of your bike tighter as the two of you prepared to leave the man you now knew to be Cable. Neena punched his arm again, this time as a goodbye, and turned to head into the mansion. You made eye contact with him again, suppressing the shiver of discomfort that came from his gaze on you, and gave him a gentle nod. “Was really good meeting you, Cable.”

He only nodded in return, and you followed your friend up to the front doors, leaning your bike against the front wall before slipping inside. You weren’t sure, of course, but you could’ve sworn you felt that eye watching you the whole time.


	2. An Evening of Cookies and Beer

You didn’t see Cable for another week and a half. You rode past the school twice a day, trying not to be hopeful and still finding yourself disappointed when he wasn’t out in the yard. It’s not like you were thinking about him night and day or anything (not _really_ , anyway), but you had a growing interest in not only his biology (he is a human but also metal???), but in his stoicism and personality. You’d only spoken to him once, but you felt yourself getting hooked.

The weekend following your first run in with Cable, Neena invited you over to make cookies. It would’ve been impossible to say no; the possibility of running into a certain silver fox _and_ baked goods? Resistance was futile.

Rolling up to the front of the beautiful mansion, Neena was settled on the front steps, toying around with what appeared to be a butterfly knife. Upon your arrival, she flipped it shut and jumped up to greet you. Clenching it in your fist, she gave you a hug—she truly was one of the best huggers you’d ever met, even with a knife in her hand—and immediately started off the night with, “Do you wanna see this cool new trick I just learned with this thing?”

You couldn’t help the laugh that came out of you. “You never fail to surprise me, Neen. Lay it on me.”

You watched as she flipped and twisted and twirled the knife in an elaborate choreography that ended with the blade out and pointed towards you. There was an immense amount of pride hidden behind the smirk on her face, and you applauded overenthusiastically. “Bravo! Well done! Impeccable!” The smirk turned to a grin, and she took a massive, dramatic bow. “Thank you, thank you, I’ll be here all week.” You rolled your eyes and started up the steps, asking, “No, but really, that’s pretty cool, where the hell did you learn that?”

She followed beside you, shrugging as she said, “You’d be surprised some of the shit people know around here. I learned that one from Cable, the guy I introduced you to last week,” like you didn’t know that, “but Yukio knows a few tricks, too.” You nodded; you’d met Yukio in the kitchen after a few of Neena’s many experimental cooking successes. She was dating an X-Men—X-Man? X-Woman? —that went by Negasonic Teenage Warhead. Friends called her Ellie, but you were never sure whether you were her friend or not, so you politely stuck to the longer of the two options.

Stepping into the foyer, you took a moment to adjust to being inside these walls. It was always an interesting change going from ‘quaint cottage in the woods’ to ‘massive castle-y mansion on an estate’. You were constantly trying to be careful of what you touched and where you were walking; who knew how much some of the vases and paintings around here were?

Neena took your hesitant adjustment period as an opportunity to take the lead, and she worked her way through the main level to the kitchen. You followed suit, knowing your way around _just_ well enough that you no longer had to follow right on her heels for fear of losing her in the many corridors and doorways. Entering, you shook your head lovingly at the display in front of you. Your sweet friend had carefully laid out all the ingredients for basic chocolate chip cookies, in order of addition, as well as all the utensils, cookie sheets, and two huge bowls for mixing. Despite her sometimes-laissez-faire attitude, this was yet another example of what a huge and sincere shit she gave. Clearing her throat, she shifted the attention from the meticulous arrangement and towards herself. “What kinda music do you think?”

Pondering for a moment, you felt the risk taker in you rear its head. “Oh, what the hell, let’s just shuffle it.”

She smiled softly and dramatically tapped the screen without another word. Lou Reed’s “Take a Walk on the Wild Side” came spilling quietly from the speakers in the corner, and you started to measure out the flour as Neena stood on the other side of the center island and began to scoop brown sugar.

Time slipped by, the two of you chatting casually about your individual jobs and social lives. It never ceased to amaze you how easy it felt to be around Neena, no matter what you were doing. She was an extremely positive force, and one to be reckoned with. You’d managed to steer the conversation to a recent mission she’d gone on with her team, and boy howdy, you did _not_ wanna get on her bad side. Lady Luck did not seem to be particularly nice to those that wronged the lovely Domino.

You shook your head, cutting her off midsentence. “Okay, wait, wait, wait, the guy trips on a pipe and dies? And Wade is just sitting in the corner, feet cut off, and he’s criticizing _you_ for not saving him? I gotta be honest, that’s a real dick move.”

“Yeah, it is.” You jumped at the sound of a deep voice, turning around to see none other than Cable leaned against the frame of the door directly behind you.

“Way to creep, Cable,” Neena scolded, taking a breather from mixing some dough to cross the kitchen and grab two beers from the refrigerator. She held one up to you, and you nodded. Why not? This was going to be the last batch of cookies, anyway, and you had nowhere to be. You watched curiously as she leaned back into the fridge and grabbed…a third beer? Your stomach clenched just a bit. Did that mean there was going to be three people drinking? And was one of them severely outside of your age and gender demographic?

The tall woman returned to your side of the kitchen, handing you a bottle and reaching behind you to give one to Cable. Drinking a beer with Cable, no biggie. Beside you, Neena set the lip of the cap of her bottle on the edge of the counter and slammed the heel of her hand down on it, effectively opening it and sending the lid flying. Cable, on the other hand, cracked his open very casually with his metal arm—can you say _ohmyfuckinggodthatwashot_?—and cheers-ed with Neena before looking at you expectantly. Okay, opening a bottle, you could manage that. You tried to twist the cap off, and felt your face warming as you failed. Your hands were too sweaty, go fucking figure. This wasn’t a fucking twist off cap and you weren’t a freaking mutant, what were they expecting? You laughed awkwardly, trying with all your might to open the bottle without making it look like you were struggling. You were struggling. That was okay, though, you’d been looking for a reason to move away and start a new life somewhere that _didn’t_ have unbearably attractive older men watching you fail _so_ miserably at something so _freaking_ simple that—

He sighed and reached over. You froze, your hand moving away as his metal arm twisted the cap off the bottle with hardly any strain. It fell into the palm of his hand, and he held it out to you. Your eyes went from the cap, to him, with that stupidly handsome face, and back to the cap before you moved to take it. You picked it up gingerly, noticing the surprising warmth of the metal of his palm, before he pulled away and brought his other, beer holding hand forward to tap his bottle against yours. He caught your eyes again as your hands met with the softest clink of glass on glass, and you felt like time stopped for a moment. Hell, maybe it did; Neena had mentioned he was a time traveler. The way he looked at you now was cataclysmically different than the way he had last week. Then, he’d been annoyed, but now, you saw buckets of curiosity and a glint of humor in those multicolored eyes. That was promising. But the moment was there and then gone in a flash. He pulled away. You remembered where you were, and that time was real. Right. “Thanks.” He took a swig and nodded, leaving it at that.

Neena breathed a laugh through her nose before saying, “Cable and I don’t hang out much, but Wade’s always trying to force everybody to bond, form team comradery or whatever, so we drink a beer every Monday night. It’s not actually that hard to hang out with him when he’s a little tipsy. It helps that Wade isn’t around.”

You laughed, rolling the bottle cap around in your hand as you took a sip. Ahh, beer. Not your favorite, but it got the job done.

Cable’s eyes were on you. You weren’t sure, but you got the feeling that they hadn’t left you for more than a second ever since he came into the room. Clearing your throat, you turned towards him. “So, Cable, I’ve got a lot of questions for you. Kind of an interrogation, really.”

He shrugged, taking a large swig from his bottle before swallowing and uttering an affirmative, “Shoot.”

“You’re from the future, right?” A nod paired with a grunt that was meant to sound indifferent (but you knew better; who wouldn’t hold the ‘I’m from the future’ card close to their chest?). “What’s that like?” You could tell he’d been asked the question before. He basically started speaking before you’d even finished the question. “Different.” He had a small smirk on his face; he knew he was being a tease, and he liked it.

Neena leaned over to you and stage whispered, “That’s all he ever says when people ask.” Raising her voice to a normal level of speaking, she added, “My theory is that he’s not allowed to say anything because of the Butterfly Effect or time travel law or something.”

You nodded. “Yeah, sure, of course. But, like, how is it different?”

All he did was narrow his eyes at the question. You got the feeling he wasn’t really a fan of this playful line of questioning.

You raised your hands in a surrendering motion. “Okay, okay, I get that, no problem.” You paused slightly, before adding, “But maybe, like…How is it _not_ different? Are you allowed to answer that one?”

He shook his head incredulously, murmuring, “Jesus…” under his breath.

You couldn’t help but laugh. “Okay, okay, fine, I’ll stop, I’m sorry. I’m just curious, but I can take a hint.”  You took a guilty sip of your beer and hoped you hadn’t stepped on his figurative toes. Swallowing, you added, “So what other bonding activities does this Wade make you do?”

Cable rolled his eyes dramatically. Neena scoffed at the response. “Oh, c’mon, don’t act like you’re above playing Twister with grown adults in the middle of a Saturday afternoon. At least we’re not blackout drunk doing it at 3:00 in the morning.”

Under his breath, Cable muttered, “I wish that was how we were doing it.”

Now it was Neena’s turn to roll her eyes. “Oh, please, I think you’ve just been tea bagged by Wade too much and you’re embarrassed.” She punctuated this point with a long drink from her beer, slamming it on the counter. Somehow, you were incredibly entertained by this dialogue. Maybe it was because she seemed like she was very right. Or maybe it was the idea of Cable in compromising positions…

Cable interjected. “No, it’s because you always win with your dumb fuckin’ luck.”

You smiled to yourself as the two continued to go back and forth about the outcomes of the numerous games Wade made them play. You made a mental note to stop by the mansion on Thursday nights, so you could witness the reason behind this quasi-argument in person. The topic drifted on from there, to a recollection of another of their recent missions, to a shared interest in Star Wars (the only thing the time traveler would say on the matter was, “Well, they got a few things right,”), and soon enough you’d finished your beer, then Neena hers, and Cable was last.

Neena grabbed the three empty bottles from the counter top and tossed them in the recycling bin, and you giggled to yourself as you watched Cable eye the pile of almost cooled cookies from his position in the doorway. You spoke in soft tones as you said, “You know, I think Neena would be okay with you taking a cookie, Cable.” Leaning in conspiratorially, you whispered, “She might even let you take two, if you ask nicely.”

Neena turned around from the bin, mouth open with mock hurt. “How dare you, I am very generous with my baked goods.”

You raised your eyebrows at her. “Yeah, okay then, how come I never got any of the muffins we made a couple weeks ago? Or any of those cupcakes from last month? Hmm?”

She shook her head with accusing eyes. “You little shit. You’ll get some of these cookies, alright? And, to prove my generosity, I’m going to go give Ellie and Yukio some, too.” Grabbing two cookies in each hand, she locked eyes with you as she marched out of the room, a smile on her face to ensure that no, she was not actually offended, and yes, you were right, she ought to share some of her baking triumphs with others.

You looked to Cable now, your grin growing bigger as you noticed the knowing smirk on his. Neena was one of the most adorable and endearing people you’d ever met, and it seemed he had similar thoughts.

Turning to start picking up the minor mess you had made on the counter when mixing the dough earlier, you startled as you felt his presence at your side. He was helping you clean. In the back of your mind, you noticed Fleetwood Mac’s “Dreams” playing in the background. Of course, it would be a song like that when it was just the two of you. Trying not to be noticeably flattered (or flustered) by Cable’s closeness, you kept your eyes down as you casually questioned the older man, “Okay, can I just ask you one more question about being a time traveler?”

The corners of his lips turned up and he laughed (you made him laugh!), teasing you in a low voice, “You can ask all you want, darlin’, but I think you already know I won’t answer.”

You felt the slightest blush in your cheeks at the term of endearment. You could _really_ get used to him calling you that. Outwardly, you shrugged. “That’s okay, I figured you probably wouldn’t, I was just going to ask if you missed it. You know, the future.”

He didn’t speak, and you accepted that with a returned silence.

Then you heard him answer. “Sometimes.” Just a murmur, from somewhere deep within his vocal chords, almost like the damn things didn’t want to let him say it.

You paused. Did you press further? Who were you kidding, of course you did. You wanted to make sure your words weren’t pressuring or insulting, though. You thought on it for a moment, letting the moment steady itself, before questioning softly, “What do you miss?”

As soon as the words left your mouth, he had angled his head to face you and fixed his eyes on yours. You anxiously met them, letting your hands still themselves on the counter, and you felt your stomach tighten. He did _not_ want to talk about that right now, and you could feel his desire to avoid the subject coming off him in waves. “I’m sorry,” you blurted.

His hard brow softened at the sincerity in your voice, and he broke the eye contact he’d so aggressively established to take a deep breath, lean forward, and grab a cookie from the pile on the counter. You watched the way he moved as he did so, and you were in awe watching his non-human arm at such close range. Its movements were so fluid and precise, and in that moment, you remembered how very impressive the man next to you was.

He took a bite of the cookie, and after a few chews, brought his eyes to yours. Swallowing, Cable hummed under his breath, “You’re not ready for that, kid.” Another bite, another few chews, another swallow, “But stick around. Think we could use someone like you around here.”

It was hard to keep eye contact with him, and yet you couldn’t find the will to stop. His eyes were mesmerizing. You were surprised at the strength in your voice as you said, “I’m not going anywhere.”

He shoved the last of the cookie in his mouth and nodded at you before grabbing the pile of dishes you’d put together on the counter and taking them around the center island to the sink. Setting them inside, he turned to you and, after his final swallow, said, “Good.” A nod, a sniff, and another, “Good,” before he crossed to the refrigerator and pulled the door open, leaning in to grab another beer before shutting the door firmly and catching your eye one last time. “Good seeing you, Y/N.”

You uttered a casual, “You, too, Cable,” before watching him grab _another_ cookie and exit the kitchen. You listened until his footsteps were too quiet to hear.

You spent the rest of the night getting drunk with Neena, and all you could think about was the way he had said your name.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahh! I did it! I posted another chapter. And almost 3k words! Much better than the last, although I'm always partial to a good ol' 5k chapter. I'm proud of myself for getting it done, anyway, especially in spite of all the shit I've had to do this week. And it's not even that badly written...It helps that I'm Cable obsessed. Feel free to drop a comment or a kudos or literally any kind of feedback, and thanks for reading!!!


	3. An X-ploration of the X-Mansion

You were privy to boredom. There was no way around it, you were bored, like, 65-80% of the time. This number had increased when Cable and Neena came into your life. It was as though nothing interested you the same way once you knew those two lived just down the road (in a facility with so many amenities, no less). You weren’t entirely sure why this sudden disinterest in other activities happened, but you were content with leaving that bridge alone until it was absolutely necessary to cross it. For now, you enjoyed Neena’s seemingly compatible sense of boredom. You didn’t know much about Cable yet, but he seemed to have a similar amount of spare time on his hands, too. You had a feeling that you might be about to become a group. An unofficial one, yes, but nevertheless a group.

This suspicion was only affirmed the next time you saw Cable. You’d stopped by the mansion to see if Neena was around; usually, if she was supposed to be around to see you, Lady Luck would have her there. You’d grown to accept that if Neena wasn’t around, she wasn’t meant to be, cosmically.

Cable was running laps in the yard. Not a rare occurrence, but having spoken to him at this point, you noticed a few things you hadn’t before. You liked the way he looked when he dressed casually; a white t shirt and sweats were somehow so hot on a man with a body like that. The slowly setting sun shone on the metal of his left arm and reflected off that golden eye and towards you as he noticed you rolling up the driveway yet again. Not a rare occurrence, but having spoken to you at this point, he slowed to a stop as you neared him. He was out of breath, and you could hardly contain yourself watching his lungs heave like that. You wondered what else made him breathe heavy.

“Hey, Cable, how’s it goin’?” You hopped off your bike as he answered gruffly, “It’s going. You here to see Neena?”

You nodded enthusiastically, and he started towards the massive front doors, signaling you to follow him. You did so without question, eyes locked on the back of his head. Your gaze traveled down his body, noticing the small diamond of sweat on his lower back. He was unbelievably fit for his age. His shoulders were broad and muscled, and you could see the metal of his spine. You _really_ wanted to know more about his physique. His ass wasn’t half bad, either, especially in those sweatpants. You wondered if he had a uniform like other X-Men and their villainous counterparts that you’d seen on the news; those outfits always hugged an ass better than any pair of leggings you’d encountered.

Hearing the clearing of a throat, you brought your eyes back up, only to see his on you, and you blushed at the smirk on his handsome face. He’d caught you staring at his ass. _Awesome_. His head returned forward as the two of you reached the front door, and as you leaned your bike against the wall like usual, you tried to break the embarrassing silence by asking, “Any idea where she might be in this maze?”

You both stepped inside as he answered, “I don’t even know if she’s here.” He paused, and you were wondering if you might be better off just going home and watching YouTube until you passed out when he continued, “But why don’t I help you look for her?”

Surprised, you questioned, “You sure? I’d think you probably have something better to do than wander around with me.”

He shook his head. “No, I could use a distraction, I’ve been bored all damn day.”

You shrugged. “Hmm. An unusual request, coming from you, but I suppose I’ll allow it, just this once.” You took pride in the small smile he had as you spoke. Spinning in a circle, you sighed. “Well, where should we start? I don’t really know this place very well; I get lost every time I try to go anywhere that isn’t the kitchen.”

Cable scoffed. “Yeah, when I first got here, I was the same way.” He pointed down the hallway to your right. “Why don’t we try the library?”

You’d barely nodded when he started in that direction, and you followed closely behind. “When, uh, did you first get here, anyway?”

There was hesitation in his voice as he answered, “About a month ago now.” You waited for him to continue; you were starting to learn that waiting for a moment after he spoke would lead him to admit more about himself. He stayed true to form. “I didn’t plan on staying, but these dumbasses need someone around to look after ‘em.”

As he cracked the door, you opened your mouth to speak but no words came out as you saw what lied behind the solid wood. This library was massive. As in, it had one of those wheelie ladders connected to the shelf because it was huge and full to the brim with all kinds of knowledge. You made a mental note to return, often. Shaking yourself out of your amazement, you followed behind him as he stepped into the room, asking, “By ‘these dumbasses’, I assume you mean Wade?”

You got an almost laugh out of him at that one. “Yeah, Wade is one of the dumbasses. Neena can look after herself, but she’s just about the only one who can.” Taking one last look around, Cable turned around, only glancing at you and avoiding your eyes as he said, “She ain’t in here, let’s try her room upstairs.” He walked past you, and you had no choice but to continue in his tracks. He seemed to be used to taking the lead, and you surely didn’t mind that. He also seemed to be avoiding getting too close to you, and while you did mind that, you assumed there was a good reason behind it. Even if that reason was that he secretly hated you, you appreciated the sentiment behind him not speaking as such.

He led you back down the hall to the stairs, and you climbed them together, always keeping a safe distance from him. You didn’t figure he would lash out at you, especially now that you’d had a beer together and become a bit more familiar with one another, but you couldn’t be too careful, given that you knew next to nothing about him, or his metal parts. With your luck, they were sentient and in the mood to kill today. You couldn’t help yourself from questioning on the subject, “So, can I ask about your arm, or is that a Cable no-no, too?”

He was quiet—contemplative? —before he turned his head, only slightly, so you could see, and nodded curtly, responding lowly, “What the hell, why not?”

His tone made you shiver, and you hoped he hadn’t noticed. You were far too happy that you were allowed to ask him about himself to waste it all on a minor, involuntary reaction to his perfectly growly voice. Reaching the top of the stairs, he hung a left and started down the hall again. You asked bluntly, “Does it come off?”

You had to halt very quickly as Cable stopped walking and turned to look at you with an incredulous look on his face. He repeated your question back to you with disbelief, “Does it _come off_?”

“Yeah, you know, is it kinda like one of your guns and you take it off to clean it or something?”

He closed his eyes and shook his head. “Jesus…I’m not even going to dignify that with an answer, Y/N.” He kept moving, and you got the feeling that it didn’t come off.

Reaching a door that looked just like all the others, he brought his right hand up to knock firmly on the wood. You both waited, and waited, and when there was no Neena-like response, his gaze met yours. You really had to fight _that_ shiver. “Don’t think she’s in right now, kid.”

You broke eye contact, looking down and shuffling your feet. Surprisingly, or perhaps not so much, you didn’t really want to leave. “Damn.” A pause, for effect. Then you looked at him again. “Well, I’m actually kind of having an okay time on this tour, got anything else you can show me? Or is it all confidential from here?”

The corner of his mouth turned up, just a smidge, and he nodded softly as he said, “There’s a couple things, I guess.” And without another word, he walked right back down the hall to the stairwell. You didn’t move for a moment, shocked that he’d actually said yes, and he called to you from the top of the stairs. “You comin’, darlin’?”

Those words—well, _that_ word—made you spin around and follow him down the stairs faster than if he’d threatened to kill you. He led you down to the ground floor, and then continued down the stairs into the basement. You hadn’t been down there yet, and you were growing more and more intrigued with each step. Despite wanting to see more of this continually mysterious building, you kept your eyes trained on Cable most of the time, simultaneously taking in as much of him and the mansion as you could. You noticed the way his hair bounced just a bit when he went down the stairs.

Reaching the landing in the basement, he led you through one, two, three, four doors before stopping in front of one in the back of a room full of covered furniture. There was a sense of nervousness in your stomach; a dank, dark basement with an old metal man? Recipe for disaster. But somehow, you trusted him. You hardly knew him, but you had a feeling he wouldn’t hurt you. Not on purpose, anyway (looking at you, potentially sentient limbs).

“Where the hell are we?” You were entirely confused as he put his hand on the doorknob, caught your eye, and smirked. That goddamn smirk was going to be the end of you. Winking, he twisted the handle and swung the door open, and you felt your eyes go wide.

It was the wine cellar. Now, that statement sounds like a room with some wine in it. This was a cavern with barrels on barrels and bottles on bottles of wine lining the walls, with an island in the center adorned with glasses of all shapes and sizes; stemless ones, crystal ones, some with jewels on the base and some with gold leaf on the rims. There was no way this room wasn’t worth at least two or three million dollars. You felt nervous to step inside, but he had already waltzed in (as much of a waltz a tall buff man can manage, anyway) and was seemingly waiting for you at the counter in the middle. You took the hint, and you felt your heart skip a beat as you crossed the threshold.

“Um,” you started, taking in your surroundings, “this place is insane.”

He nodded, a knowing and unexpectedly toothy grin on his face as he exclaimed, “Believe me, I know. When I found this place, I went on a bit of a bender;” insert typical Cable pause here, “the next day, I was so hungover that Wade knocked too loud on my door and I broke his wrist for it.”

You raised your eyebrows at him. If you weren’t so in awe, you would’ve scolded him. But he added, “Only because I knew he could take it, of course,” and you reminded yourself that he wasn’t someone who needed to be scolded, he was the one who did the scolding. You nodded. “Riiight…”

He continued trying to cover his tracks—he almost seemed _flustered_ —as he added, “And it was just a one-time thing, anyway, I don’t usually…do that kind of thing.”

You smiled, feeling a wave of sarcasm coming on. “Oh, yeah, you’re the clean and sober man I had a beer with last week, you’d never hurt a fly with your mechanized weapon of a body.” You caught his eye with a playful smirk on your face; you were only kidding, of course.

“Now, I never said I was clean and sober, I just said it was a one-time bender.”

You lightheartedly ignored the comment as you asked, “Did you bring me down here to tell me an embarrassing story about drunken roommate abuse, or did you bring me down here to get me drunk on what is clearly very expensive wine?”

The smile on his face grew bigger. You were totally killing it right now. “I didn’t bring you down here for anything, darlin’, you’re the one who’s supposed to be distracting me, remember?”

You nodded once in agreement, “Alright, then, let me do my damn job. Pick a glass for me, and I’ll pick one for you.”

His smile faltered in confusion as he asked, “What?”

You pointed towards the side of the island facing him. “Go on, we’re picking glasses for each other, pick me something you think I’ll like, and I’ll pick something I think you’ll like. It can be like a game.”

He picked up on the fact that you probably weren’t going to take ‘no’ for an answer, so he bent and started glancing over the glasses on the rack on his side of the island. You were growing very preoccupied with picking the perfect one for him, so you almost didn’t notice when he started to scan one of the glasses with his eye tech. You watched out of the corner of your own eye as his left glowed a vibrant orange and he read something only he was able to see. Then he reached out and grabbed the glass he’d been scanning, and his eye faded back to its original color. As he straightened up, you saw the perfect one for him and slid it from its spot into your grasp. You kept it out of sight as you stood tall again and noticed the proud look on his face.

“What’s that face, Cable? Think you found something good? ‘Cause I’ll bet it’s not better than mine.”

He narrowed his eyes mischievously. “You’re a cocky little shit, aren’t you?”

You nodded knowingly.

He shook his head, laughing a little under his breath, and brought his hand up from beneath the counter. In its metal grasp was a medium sized wine glass with intricate flowered detailing trailing from the base all the way to the rim, which was laced with gold leaf. It was tall and slender, almost more of a champagne flute than a wine glass, but you figured you’d let that slide. You swallowed, suddenly nervous to hear his explanation. “Why that one?”

He set it down gently on the counter and proudly said, “They’re cross vine flowers. Like the ones on your house.”

Your heart stopped beating, and your eyes flew from the glass to him and back to the glass again. For starters, you were very flattered and had _definitely_ lost the game. Not only did he know which house was yours in the neighborhood, he knew what kind of _vines_ were climbing up the walls? “Wow, Cable, that’s…perfect. You’re very observant.” You looked down at the glass in your hand and grimaced. “Mine is definitely not better than yours. Mine is just this,” you mumbled as you brought your own hand up from behind the counter and showed him the glass you’d chosen for him. It was a simple silver chalice, with a heavy shine and miniscule orange stones set in the base. “I just thought it looked kinda like your arm and the little stones looked like your eye, I don’t even know what kinda rocks they are or anything.”

He reached over the counter to take it from your grasp, and you were caught off guard and froze for a moment. The metal of his fingers brushed over yours, much like the last time you’d seen him when he had opened your bottle. You were again surprised to feel warmth instead of cold, and so wished he would stay there, touching you. But he took the glass from your hand, and you could see him scanning it, much like he had with the glass he had chosen for you. A soft, almost vulnerable smile came over him, accompanied by the loss of some of the tension in his posture. “It’s orange tiger’s eye.” _More like a silver fox’s eye, am I right, ladies?_ His gaze shifted up from the glass to you, and you saw the sincerity in his face as he murmured, “I think you win.”

You shook your head. “No, either you win, or it’s a tie, because mine _cannot_ be better than yours.”

He considered it, and then bobbed his head in agreement. “Fine. A tie, then.”

The two of you sat in a moment of approving silence before he questioned, “Red or white?”

You leaned over the counter, settling your chin onto your fist and answering matter-of-factly, “Red.”

He spoke not a word as he went around the room, scrutinizing a few barrels and several bottles before finding one he found fit for the occasion. Bringing it over to the island, he pulled a wine bottle opener from somewhere on his side and proceeded to pull the cork out with a satisfying pop. Pouring the wine into the glass, you appreciated his meticulousness as he filled it exactly half full and handed it to you. You took it gratefully and couldn’t help noticing the way his fingers ghosted over yours as he pulled away.

Filling his own glass, Cable went to take a sip, but you quickly interrupted him. “Wait! We have to cheers!”

He rolled his eyes and moved the cup away from his lips and toward the center of the island, raised in his left hand. You were growing to love the subtle noises the arm made when it moved, like a clock ticking and whirring with life. He waited for you to speak your cheers into existence, and as you raised your own glass, with the delicate flowers woven across the surface, you declared, “To…neighbors.”

He shook his head in amusement, the corners of his lips turned up in a smile as he added, “And their innocent intentions?”

You nodded, “Exactly,” and the look in his eyes as he brought his glass forward to clink it lightly against yours made you weak at the knees. He was trying to figure you out, analyzing you, although not with any of his mutant abilities. He was just…observing you, with this look of growing curiosity and what some people would call affection etched on his face. But you weren’t one to jump to conclusions. You ducked your head, breaking eye contact, and the two of you finally took your drinks. He’d picked a _very_ expensive wine, you realized, as it hit your tongue and you swallowed it smoothly. Not a bad pick.

You let the moment sit, savoring the taste of the wine on your tongue, before breaking the silence with, “Anything else you want to show me? A pot farm in the subbasement? Maybe a strip club in the attic?”

He blinked softly, the thoughts in his head a mystery yet very evident as he moved his gaze from the contents of his glass to your face. “No, let’s stay here. You’ve asked me questions, now it’s my turn.”

You felt your stomach drop, and you fought off the feeling with a joke. “You brought me down here to get me drunk and _interrogate me_? Rude.” You took a large gulp of wine to punctuate your sentence, and had hardly even swallowed it before adding, “Besides, you’ve only answered one of my questions. If you want to know something about me, it’s going to have to be quid pro quo, Clarisse.”

“Fine. I get to go first, though.”

You waved your glass in an ‘I don’t care’ motion. “Alrighty, then. Shoot.”

He took a pensive drink before asking, “You’re pretty young—” you couldn’t help the blush that started to creep up your neck at the understanding that this really might be an interrogation, “—so why do you live alone, so far away from everything?”

You were sticking to your joke guns. “I live close to this place, don’t I? There’s a Neena, a Cable, and a tennis court, what more could I need?”

He shook his head, staring down into his cup. “That’s not gonna cut it, Y/N.” His eyes fell on yours as he asked, “Why are you alone out here?”

A sigh fell from your lips. He was a persistent old fucker. You refused to meet his gaze, instead focusing way too hard on the way the barrels were stacked on the wall behind him as you answered, “I needed some time to myself. Away from all that. Couldn’t really focus on myself with all the shit that goes on there.” You cut yourself off with a miniscule sip of your wine. You’d only been down here in the cellar for maybe ten, fifteen minutes, but you had a feeling you were going to get a little tipsy, considering the topic of conversation had already turned so serious. You’d wanted to get to know Cable better, but god, at what cost?

He seemed content with your answer. You took his silence as your cue to ask your question. “For real, though, what’s the deal with your arm? Aside from it not being able to come off, of course.”

A tension set into him as you asked, and you felt that he was uncomfortable with whatever it was that made his arm the way it was. He answered simply, “It’s a virus. Turns my body into a machine if I don’t keep it under control.”

Your heart ached. It wasn’t his choice to be like this. He’d grown to live with and utilize it, but at its core it was illness, not self-modification. You wished you could help him, but knew he wasn’t the type to ask for help unless he truly needed it. Until he did, you felt satisfied knowing you’d gained at least a small amount of his trust. He must have seen the empathetic distress on your face and reassured you, “It doesn’t hurt or anything. Just takes up a lot of energy.” Another one of his information withholding pauses. “Comes with plenty of perks, I suppose.”

You couldn’t help yourself from taking another drink and throwing in an arm pun, for shits and giggles. “It’s got a few tricks up its sleeve, eh?”

He murmured, “Jesus…”

You laughed to yourself before drinking again (your cup was almost empty already; this stuff was tasty). But your interest was piqued. “What kind of perks?”

“Well…” Cable contemplated. Then a confident smirk came over his face and he cockily asked, “Do you want me to show you?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, dearies! I've been so appreciative of the comments and kudos; I mostly only post about it on my tumblr but I read all of them at least ten times a day because they are my motivation (aside from my Cable thirst). This one rings in at almost 4k, n that's more goddamn like it! I accidentally left it on a cliffhanger; but that just makes my chapter plan that much longer, so who really wins in the end? Y'all do. Anyway, I'm super high and am super excited to post this chapter because I'm curious what y'all with think of the dialogue!! Please let me know in the comments, and thanks so much for supporting this story!!!


	4. An Interesting Way to Show Off

As soon as the word, “Yes,” left your mouth, Cable had grabbed the bottle of wine off the counter and left the room without a word. You assumed you were meant to follow, and since he’d left his glass behind, you did the same, hastily walking after him empty handed and feeling a sense of excitement settling into your limbs as he led you up the stairs and down several hallways to the training room.

You’d been inside it only once, when Neena had needed a lifting partner—Neena lifting was a real sight to see, _lots_ of curse words—and you felt some of your apprehension leave your body as you took in your familiar surroundings. You knew this room, and that brought a sense of comfort you hadn’t had in the wine cellar. You were at ease here.

You hovered by the door as Cable crossed the room to a rack of throwing knives. Grabbing a handful by their handles—you liked the subtle sound of them in his metal grip—he returned to you, a wild look in his eyes. You couldn’t be sure (there was no being sure about Cable’s emotions), but he seemed to be almost as excited about showing off his capabilities as you were; you got the feeling he didn’t get the opportunity very often. He handed you both the bottle of wine and the bundle of knives, and you felt your stomach drop. You were going to be handling blades _and_ booze? This was a horrible idea.

Cable turned and jogged several feet away, and you took another moment to appreciate those sweatpants. You were considering asking whatever higher power would listen if they could get rid of all of Cable’s other pants. You were smart in your ass ogling this time, however, and averted your gaze before he’d managed to turn around and catch your eyes on him again. As he faced you and positioned himself in front of a wall riddled with knife marks, you realized you hadn’t moved since he’d handed you the wine and knives, and you sprang into action. Setting the wine on the ground beside you and getting a better grip on the handful of danger the metal man had given you, you were starting to get a pretty good idea of what was about to happen. But, just in case you were wrong, you hesitated to make the first move. Shifting your weight from foot to foot, you decided against chucking things at him without any warning, and calling across the room, you asked, “So, uh, what am I supposed to be doing right now?”

He pointed at your hand and answered, “Throw those at me.”

You nodded; this was exactly what you thought he was going to make you do, and you were terrified. “I don’t really, uh…” You swallowed nervously and started again. “I don’t think I’m a very good aim, and I don’t wanna hurt you or something, so I think maybe I don’t throw these at you.”

He rolled his eyes. “Relax, Y/N. I trust you not to kill me with a knife that small.” He waved you on, the upturn of his lips goading you on like a dare. “Go on.”

You braced yourself. He wasn’t going to take no for an answer, and you were going to have to throw literal knives at this handsome man. You nodded to yourself as you set the bundle of blades on the floor nearby; you were going to do this, and it was going to be awesome, and you wouldn’t embarrass yourself or kill anybody. Taking one dagger into your dominant hand, you bent and grabbed the wine bottle with the other, taking a large swig to steady your nerves and maybe actualize your feigned confidence. Setting it back down and wiping your mouth with the back of your knife-wielding hand, you shook your arms once, twice, and then pulled back and threw the blade before you could let yourself think twice about it.

You watched as the dagger flew through the air then winced as it skimmed past Cable’s head and into the wall behind him. You missed. Not surprising. You were impressed with yourself, though; you’d given it enough strength to embed it into the wall instead of clattering to the ground. You were already doing better than you’d hoped. The smirk on Cable’s face grew, egging you on by yelling, “Close, just a little to the left.”

Bending and taking another into your hand, you took a deep breath. You got this. You fucking got this. You winced in advance as you tossed it through the air.

You didn’t got this. This time, there was no sarcasm. You heard support in Cable’s voice as he encouraged you, “You’re doin’ fine, darlin’, c’mon.”

You took a breath at his use of that wonderful word again, reset your posture, and picked up another blade. You weren’t going to miss this one, no fuckin’ way. You pulled your arm back and flung it forward again, and as it spun towards Cable’s head, your heart beat increased at the idea that he might not dodge it. He wasn’t making any movements to do so, and you realized why as he moved his left arm in front of himself and a network of holographic orange honeycombs burst forth from its center. It built itself into what appeared to be a shield, and it proved itself as such as you watched in awe while the knife hit it and bounced off, rattling to the floor a few feet away.

As the shield disappeared, Cable noticed your dropped jaw and smiled to himself. You couldn’t help but run forward, desperate to see up close. You felt yourself gush, “That was so freakin’ cool! I’ve seen that kinda shit on TV when there’s big mutant stuff going on, but I’ve never seen anything like that in person!” As you reached him, your eyes shifted down to his arm and then back up to him. “How did you do that?”

He cocked his head with that smirk playing on the corners of his lips. “A magician never reveals his secrets.”

You narrowed your eyes playfully. “So, it’s magic?”

He rolled his. He softly reprimanded, “No, dumbass, it’s technology.”

You shrugged. “Technology is magic, in my book. Besides, it’s future technology, which is a whole different ball game.”

You returned your gaze to his arm, excited to be so close to it. You reached out to touch it, but he flinched. You stopped your movements and locked your eyes to his, trying to convey that you meant no harm. His eyes were dark with emotion, but which ones, you couldn’t tell. He seemed confused, hesitant, almost…scared. He was usually so guarded, never letting you get close to him. This was a massive change of pace for the two of you, and you felt that the wine bottle across the room might have a part to play in that. Continuing your movements very slowly, he didn’t resist this time, and you felt your fingers meet the smooth surface of his forearm. He almost recoiled at your touch, and it occurred to you that he had _feeling_ here. You trailed your fingertips from the smooth shell on the top, down to the intricate system of cables and wires that hid beneath it and scattered around on the rest of the surface of his arm. He jumped only a bit when you brushed over them, and you wondered if he was uncomfortable, or just ticklish. You’d save that research for another time, though; that was probably enough touching for now, you didn’t wanna push your luck. You pulled your hand away from his and caught his eye. You’d unconsciously stepped incredibly close to him to inspect his arm, and in an effort to break the tension the intimate contact had instilled, you realized that your voice was barely above a whisper in the closeness of the space you shared; “What else can it do?”

He seemed both happy and hesitant to move things along, but he nodded in the direction of your pile of knives and bottle of wine with that playful look back on his face. “Throw as many as you can in a row.”

You didn’t need to be told twice; this whole knife throwing act was actually kinda fun. You spun on the spot and jogged back over to your little station in the middle of the room. As you faced Cable again, you saw his eyes move away from the area your butt had just been, and you fought the smile from your lips. Two can play at the ass watching game, apparently.

You scooped up four knives and fiddled with them, calling out, “Are you sure about this?”

He opted for snark over support this time. “Come on, darlin’, you really think you can hurt me?”

Well, _that_ did it. You drew your hand back and started the assault. One after another, you threw the knives at him. You watched as he dodged the first, used his shield to deflect the second and third, and then reached out and caught the fourth and final blade. Just plucked it right from the air. Your eyes went wide, and he started to walk towards you with a cocky bounce in his step as he twirled the knife between his fingers.

He came toward you with a smug silence, but you couldn’t say the same for yourself. You felt words spilling from your lips, most of them ‘oh my god’s and expletives. “That was—I mean, I just—you’re—I am speechless here, man, that was amazing.”

Shrugging, he tried to brush off the compliment with what could only be described as a bashful, “It’s nothing.”

You weren’t having that. At all. Did he not understand that he was impressive? “Uh, no, no, that was definitely something, and I am in complete awe right now, and I think you’re pretty much perfect.”

He didn’t seem used to this kind of attention; he shifted his gaze down to his feet and shook his head gently, and you heard the subtle sounds of his metal hand clenching slightly. You hadn’t meant to make him feel badly because of your praise, so you quickly moved the conversation along by adding, “And if you don’t get your perfect ass over here and help me with this bottle of wine, I’m going to be forced to run away with it and you’ll never see me again.”

He snapped to attention at that, coming towards you with wide strides and a determined smirk growing on his face. He seemed to be good at taking orders; noting his posture, you wondered if he had been (would be? Is?) a soldier in his time. There was no way he wasn’t; it would frankly be a shame to not use a body like that to fight the good fight. This realization had your stomach clenching with every step he took as he neared you, and you loved every second. He truly was perfection, even if he refused to believe it. You felt your face express your humored confusion as he finally neared you, snatched the bottle of wine from your hand, and brought it to his lips, taking several long gulps before handing it back to you and clearing his throat. You wondered how many other people had seen that kind of chugging display from the older man, and hoped you were a special case as he wiped his mouth off with the palm of his hand and flashed you a toothy grin. What a show off.

That smile on his face was too infectious, though, and you felt a similar one forming on your own lips as you stated, “Well, you’re just full of surprises, aren’t you?”

He nodded, and you could see his cheeks flushing slightly at the rush of wine in his stomach. “Damn straight.”

Your tone was softer as you held his eye and said, “I’m looking forward to that, so surprise me all you want, Tin Man.”

It seemed that the growing amount of alcohol in his bloodstream and your immense amazement at his knife catching skills seemed to give him an energy boost, and he seemed almost cocky as he leaned toward you and murmured, “You want me to surprise you, do you?”

Your heart rate increased, and your tone softened as you replied, “Very much so.”

He came even closer to you, close enough to touch, and your breath caught in your throat. His voice was low and rumbly enough that it would probably register on the Richter earthquake magnitude scale as he purred, “I think it’s my turn to ask a question.” A pause for effect, then a jerk of his head in the general direction of your home down the street. “You got anybody waiting for you at that cute little house of yours?”

You felt your nervous sense of humor kick in. “You think that when I moved into the country to focus on myself, I’d drag someone with me?”

He shrugged. “You seem like you’d be worth it.”

You felt a heat swelling in your chest and your cheeks at the compliment. He was trying to catch you off guard, obviously, and it was working. Your voice continued to get softer as you replied, “I wouldn’t do that to someone. I’m alone.”

He leaned down, close enough that if you were daring, you could lean forward just a few inches and kiss him. But you didn’t. You wanted to see where this went. The huskiness of his voice made your knees weak as he whispered, “Not right now.”

Your heart threatened to vacate your body when he glanced down at your lips and then back to your eyes. You knew it was the alcohol in both of your systems, but you really wanted to close the distance between the two of you once and for all. He was clearly leaving you to make the final decision, wasn’t he? But…to kiss this man, though…that would lead to emotions and attachment and maybe even drama, wouldn’t it? Scanning his face, noting the subdued color of his orange eye, you were willing to take that chance. You laughed, just a gentle humored exhale, and angled your head forward, taking it slow so your nerves wouldn’t get the best of you.

You hadn’t even made contact before you heard a voice echo out over the empty gym. You hadn’t heard it before, but the words it spoke meant it could be only one person. “Hey, lovebirds, I know making out in a gymnasium is probably one of Cable’s favorite kinks, and _watching_ people make out in a gymnasium is one of _my_ favorite kinks, but unfortunately, Colossus says that we have a mission, only with fewer filler words, and in addition to that, the ninth-grade gym class is going to start in three…two…one…”

You had never seen Cable move as fast as he did then, and you’d watched him catch a knife out of thin air only a few moments prior. He scooped up the remaining knives, handed you the wine bottle, and grabbed your other hand as the doors on the opposite side of the room blasted open and children in P.E. uniforms swarmed into gymnasium. He hauled you out of the doors, and as soon as you’d stepped through them, he turned to you, the look on his face one of guilt and apology. “I have to go.”

You were in shock and nodded dazedly. Your silence led him to continue, “We’ll finish this another time, darlin’.” You could only bob your head in agreement as he looked longingly at your lips one last time and then turned on his heel and walked away, knives still in hand and that ass refusing to quit.

After taking a moment to adjust to the whiplashh of the past few minutes, you left the mansion, and the beaming grin on your face as you biked back home told you everything. Oh, you were _fucked_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy shit, guys, I'm so sorry this took so long. Writers block is REAL. But I did it! Not as long as I'd like, but I'm late for work as it is, and I just want to give you guys SOMETHING in return for all the praise I got on the last chapter! I hope this lives up to the three weeks it apparently took me to write it. Thanks for sticking around, and thanks for all the kudos and support. Let me know what you think!!!


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